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Analyzing the Past in the Present

May 12, 2020

Junior and senior history majors have been grappling with the history of the Black Death, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ursinus Quest: Open Questions Open Minds core curriculum.

When most people hear the term “pandemic,” their minds automatically turn toward the Black Death. While our current pandemic, COVID-19, is very different from the infamous fourteenth-century plague, is it possible that studying the Black Death can teach us something about how to handle our current situation?

History majors in Dr. Susanna Throop’s capstone seminar on the Black Death have been considering that very question. Are these two pandemics actually comparable? Read the students’ findings here.